The disclosure relates to a wound dressing having a structure that absorbs exudate from a wound and inhibits lateral diffusion of the exudate within the wound dressing, thereby reducing the exposure of unwounded skin to exudate.
When skin is inflamed or wounded, areas of skin that are normally relatively dry may become unduly wet from the flow of liquid (exudate) discharged from the wound. The exudate from the wound can move over drier and/or healthier skin areas. Also, deeper parts of the skin structure that are normally wet and free of harmful microorganisms may become dry thereby risking infection from colonized bacteria due to exposure to open air and contaminants.
Conventional wound treatments apply a homogenous wound dressing (e.g., one made of woven cotton threads) over the entire wound area primarily for the purpose of keeping the wound clean, absorbing some initial bleeding, protecting it from external contaminants, and/or protecting it from direct physical trauma.
FIG. 1 is a sectional diagram of a conventional wound dressing 10. The conventional wound dressing 10 may be a gauze bandage or a multi-layer wicking bandage that wicks exudate from a wound approximately uniformly in all directions. As the conventional wound dressing 10 becomes saturated by exudate at some locations, the exudate diffuse laterally throughout the wound dressing. This lateral diffusion of exudate (as illustrated by arrows 14) to other regions of the wound dressing 10 can then cause contact between healthy portions 18 of the skin and the exudate. This is problematic because the exudate may be contaminated with bacteria or other harmful substances, thereby infecting or injuring otherwise healthy portions 18 of the skin.
Furthermore, the conventional wound dressing 10 can become an antagonist to the wound 16 by not only maintaining contact between the wound and a portion of the conventional dressing that is saturated with exudate, but also by adhering to healing portions of the wound. Upon removal of the conventional wound dressing 10, the healing portions of the wound 16 are disturbed, delaying healing and increasing the risk of scarring.